Gramps,
What is real chocolate made from?
Sarah

Dear Sarah,
Chocolate comes from the cacao plant. It was discovered by the Mayan and Aztec people. The first cacao plantations were established by the Mayan Indians in Yucatan in about 600 AD. The cacao tree will only grow within about 10 degrees from the equator, and is found in the high humidity rain forests. “Cacao” is a Mayan word meaning “God food” and it was thought by the Mayans to have magical powers.
Producing chocolate is a time consuming and complicated process. The first step is the harvesting of the cocoa pods containing the cocoa beans. The Pods are crushed and the beans and surrounding pulp extracted and fermented naturally for about six days in either open heaps or boxes, after which the beans are dried. The dried beans are then roasted. The roasting time and the size of the beans affect the flavor of the chocolate. The chocolate kernel is then separated from the shell or husk, much like breaking a nut out of its shell. The cocoa nut, or “nib” is then put through a process to help develop the flavor and color of the chocolate. The nibs, which have a very high fat content, are milled and liquified by the heat of the milling process to produce what is called cocoa liquor. When the cocoa liquor is allowed to cool it solidifies into what is called a cocoa mass. This mass is the starting point for making all chocolate products.
Gramps

P.S. I’ve recently seen two signs on T-shirts that say the following–

“Wheat for man–D&C 89:17

Chocolate for woman–24:7″

—–

“Whenever I think of the dirty word, exercise,

I rinse out my mouth with chocolate.”